Castle Break

Overly simple game, with little player interaction. Feels like you're basically playing on your own, with minor exceptions.

Ideal for younger, or people newer to games due to the very simple mechanics.

Cute game, gateway from beer and pretzels. Would work for younger kids as well.

We had a lot of fun playing this with Spencer and Maria at the Raleigh Playthrough Convention. It was super easy to pick up, and so much fun to play! There is definitely strategy involved, but it's definitely easy enough that a family with kids could play. I do think an expansion for added difficulty would sell well to more experienced gamers - like power cards that steal coins, so there's a different strategy to trying to get your keys one at a time or something. And I definitely think the "quick version" we played needs its own section on the instructions! Super fun, definitely recommend for your game collection!!

This is a fun multi player. Not too heavy but with depth for those who like a game with a little umph! I am so excited to bring this to game nights. A nice competitive game, might lose your friends :P

Today I had the pleasure of playing Castle Break at Playthrough, a NC-based gaming convention, with one of its designers. It's so fun! It's a light, strategic game in which players race to find items and treasure. But they're not searching for treasure out of greed: they're trying to free a dragon that's being held captive in the castle dungeon, and they need to melt the gold down into keys. The first player to collect enough treasure (by completing quests), melt them down into keys, and use the keys to break the dragon free, is the winner.

The mechanics are simple and easy to learn. Players can hold six cards in their hands. Any additional cards they have are placed face-up in front of them. During their turn, players can move, swap cards in and out of their hand from the face-up cards, steal a face-up card from another player, or complete a quest if they've met the objective. Players can also introduce an element of "take that!" into the game by playing power cards, allowing them to move other players against their will, teleport themselves across the board, force a player to lose a turn, etc.

Once the keys are forged, play switches to a "push your luck" endgame, in which players must roll a green side on a particular die. If you do, you unlock one of the locks holding the dragon prisoner, and you can make another roll. But if you roll a red side, your turn is over.

This is a game that could truly be enjoyed by the entire family. It can be learned in five minutes, but has enough strategy and replay value that it's not boring.

Played at convention and was quite fun. Very familiar but with new ideas added in. Quick to learn. Lacks a catch up mechanic that can lead to run away games.